And what country can preserve its liberties if their rulers are not warned from time to time that their people preserve the spirit of resistance? Let them take arms. The remedy is to set them right as to facts, pardon and pacify them. What signify a few lives lost in a century or two? The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.
Looks like Nazi Flying Wing in Raiders of the Lost Ark. The BV-38 is a fictitious aircraft, albeit one that Raiders production designer Norman Reynolds extrapolated from a number of real designs, most notably the Horten Ho 229, a jet wing test-flown by the Luftwaffe in 1943.
Actually, not design lunacy at all, just like with any full-wing body, needing computers to make it fly well.
That's the thing. From almost the beginning of real scientific research into airplanes, starting in the 20's with the development of full-scale and full-speed wind tunnels that were accurate, blended fuselage bodies, flying wings and, well, the above pancake, were all found to be aerodynamically superior to the fuselage with wings and tail of the standard aircraft. Many attempts at making such planes produced some actually quite almost really good aircraft, like the Ho 229 and some of the other crazy late-war stuff (you can look up a lot of really whacko stuff on Luft46.com.) It was the control issue at higher speeds, over 300mph, especially when approaching the sound barrier, that the control issue got critical. Which was the whole reason for going full wing anyways in order to reduce drag to go faster and approach and break the sound barrier.
Ahead of its time.
ReplyDeleteVought v173 flying pancake
DeleteLooks like Nazi Flying Wing in Raiders of the Lost Ark. The BV-38 is a fictitious aircraft, albeit one that Raiders production designer Norman Reynolds extrapolated from a number of real designs, most notably the Horten Ho 229, a jet wing test-flown by the Luftwaffe in 1943.
ReplyDeleteActually, not design lunacy at all, just like with any full-wing body, needing computers to make it fly well.
ReplyDeleteThat's the thing. From almost the beginning of real scientific research into airplanes, starting in the 20's with the development of full-scale and full-speed wind tunnels that were accurate, blended fuselage bodies, flying wings and, well, the above pancake, were all found to be aerodynamically superior to the fuselage with wings and tail of the standard aircraft. Many attempts at making such planes produced some actually quite almost really good aircraft, like the Ho 229 and some of the other crazy late-war stuff (you can look up a lot of really whacko stuff on Luft46.com.) It was the control issue at higher speeds, over 300mph, especially when approaching the sound barrier, that the control issue got critical. Which was the whole reason for going full wing anyways in order to reduce drag to go faster and approach and break the sound barrier.
Why didn't they use constant speed propellers?
ReplyDeleteThose are constant speed props.
DeleteSometimes you have to give the daydreamers a budget and some space in order to get cool things
ReplyDelete